Bird Flu Articles | Bird Flu Links | Bird Flu Partners | Bird Flu Sitemap















Avian Bird Flu: The Next Smallpox?

Avian bird flu is all over the news these days, but it means very little to the average American, divorced as they are from all aspects of food growing and preparation. At the moment, avian bird flu spreads only from bird to bird or from bird to human, which makes the likelihood of the disease reaching your average American, who may never have handled a live chicken in their lives, extremely remote.

But that could change. Viruses can change, or 'mutate', their form, so that not *only* could they spread from bird to bird and bird to human, they could also begin to spread from human to human, and at that point, anything could happen.

Could avian bird flu become the next smallpox? At the present time, there is no vaccine for avian bird flu, but researchers at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and elsewhere are working to develop one. In the meantime, the threat of avian bird flu hangs over our head, like smallpox did to the early Americans, a vague and shadowy threat, but one that always seems present.

The good news is, prevention is as simple for bird flu as it is for any form of influenza; wash your hands! Always wash your hands after coming in contact with poultry. Keep coops, feeders, and cages clean and sterilized at all times; clean out the manure at least once a week, and keep feed stored in
Read More...




© 2008, Bird Flu Facts - All Rights Reserved Worldwide | Bird Flu Legal Information